''Haemadipsa picta'' (common names: tiger leech, or less commonly, stinging land leech) is a large (up to 33 mm long) terrestrial leech found in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

, and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It was described by John Percy Moore based on specimens collected from

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, Borneo. It preys primarily on medium- to large-sized mammals, including humans.

Ecology and behavior

''Haemadipsa picta'' occur on bushes and grasses about 1 metre or higher above the ground in moist forests. They are fast and actively moving, and even known to fall onto hikers from higher bushes or leaves. They attach themselves to the hands, arms, shoulders, and even neck of passers-by. The bites of this species are comparatively painful and difficult to heal, hence the common name "stinging land leech."

Description

''Haemadipsa picta'' measure in length. The anterior sucker diameter is and the posterior one . It is easily recognized by its longitudinally striped reddish brown dorsum: there is a broad, bluish-gray, yellow-greenish, or multicolored median-paramedian field that contains three to five black or dark brown broken stripes inside. There is also a white or pale yellowish longitudinal marginal stripe with dark-spotted borders. The venter is uniformly yellowish brown.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q15050646 Haemadipsidae Parasitic protostomes Invertebrates of Malaysia Invertebrates of Taiwan Fauna of Vietnam Animals described in 1929